November 6, 2025
Russell Simmons has reportedly paid more than $3 million to three women who accused him of sexual assault and misconduct.
Russell Simmons has reportedly reached and paid settlement agreements with three women who accused him of sexual assault and misconduct.
For over a year, at least five women who accused Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct were awaiting their settlement payments. According to attorneys for Wendy Franco, Sil Lai Abrams, and Sherri Abernathy, Simmons has paid more than $3 million in outstanding amounts owed to them, Rolling Stone reports.
“The matter has been resolved,” a lawyer for the ladies said while declining to provide any additional details.
Under the settlement terms, the Def Jam co-founder agreed to pay Franco $515,000 and Abrams and Abernathy $1,265,000 each for alleged incidents of rape and misconduct. Abernathy accused Simmons of raping her in 1983, while Abrams alleged a similar assault in 1994. Franco has not publicly detailed her claims, but court documents indicate her settlement involves alleged “physical injuries and sickness.”
Legal documents filed in January 2025 show that Simmons still owed at least $8 million to three other accusers—Tina Klein-Baker, Toni Sallie, and Alexia Jones. The filings stated that, as of earlier this year, he had paid them only $220,000 in total.
The settlements appear to allow Simmons to move forward without admitting guilt. The agreements with Franco, Abrams, and Abernathy omit specific allegations, instead stating that payments were made for “alleged personal, physical injuries and sickness.” Each settlement also clarifies that Simmons’ payments do not constitute “any admission of liability, fault, or wrongdoing.” Similarly, the settlements with Sallie and Jones include no detailed claims and reaffirm that no liability is admitted.
Before the settlements were paid, Franco, Abrams, and Abernathy described Simmons’ delay in payment as another emotional setback in their long legal battle over the alleged assaults and misconduct. After more than a year of waiting, they said his nonpayment felt like an added layer of trauma.
“It was devastating,” Franco said in April. “I just felt so stupid that I thought this person would follow through, that I thought that someone who could do what he did would turn around and acknowledge me and make some type of amends. You exposed yourself to this, and now this person again shows you that it doesn’t matter to him.”
Meanwhile, Simmons continues to pursue a defamation lawsuit against HBO and filmmakers Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick, who produced On the Record, the 2020 documentary featuring interviews with several of his accusers. Simmons’s attorney argues that “credible information, persuasive evidence, and witness statements” supporting him were ignored during production.
HBO’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, has dismissed the suit as lacking “both merit and substance,” affirming its support for the film.
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